Shifting into Post-rock

Have you ever been to a place that plays a set of playlist, or someone just briefly suggested you a song and then once you heard them, and automatically caught your attention?

Truthfully I never knew post-rock is a music genre before, not after I was introduced to a local post rock band : Mim. I don't remember exactly who suggested them or how I came across to this band, but the first time I heard the Demon track, it was so heavy that it felt like I was going to trip into a blackhole. Yeah, seriously. 

Post-rock is an experimental genre that focused on the texture and the timbre over the traditional riff or chord found in other genre. Well, I do not really understand what was the meaning of 'timbre' or riff because I am not a music expert or someone that knows how to play musical instrument. But, I would admit that I listen to music religiously. As for me, music is somehow my escapism, a perfect reason for an introvert to hide from the loud reality and this genre really suits the definition of me haha.

So, I am going to list down randomly 5 post-rock tracks to be shared with you.

 1. Put Your Dream to Sleep by Deepset

This song was taken from their album  The Lights We Shed Shall Burn Your Eyes that was released on 2018. The album also consisted of other tracks such as Every Instance in Time Is a Journey of Hope and Have You Ever Danced With the Devil Under the Pale Moonlight. I could just listen to this track all day long. The instrumental, and the sounds of riff building up towards the end of the songs, almost feels like euphoria! I really hope that I will able to see their live performance one day.

2. Kodokushi - Mim ft Gheff Abd Ghafar

This is the band that I have mentioned earlier. The other track that you might like, other than Demon, would be Kodokushi. The definition of the song title itself gave me the eerie feeling as it is defined - 'lonely death' that refers to Japanese phenomenon of people dying alone and would be discovered later after a long time. This 9 minutes track seeping in like a grudge from the past lives, especially the part of a woman crying. The album itself, Runut Dalam Jeda consists of heavy tracks and would leave you 'haunted'.

3. Last Hope - Moi Last Von ft Elwa

For this track, the spoken words/poetry recital was the one that caught my ears. Previously, I love to attend poetry events especially poetry in Bahasa. Somehow I still wish that I could enjoy them again, without any inconvenience feeling that I might bump into people that I wish to avoid. This track is beautiful as the sunset, as it gave out peaceful and yet melancholy tone. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/7eR3e2S0KR4yz1SI9wjTQ4

4. 雨: 50 Words to Express Rain in Japanese - Zulhezan

If you're a pluviophile, this track would be the one for you. The ambience of the track give out the serenity of rainy days, however I wish the track could be longer. Zulhezan also previously writes music for Akta Angkasa and Dirgahayu. Recently Zulhezan released new records of Oleh Esei Asas (Sa-Buah) Rekod Kebangsaan with the collaboration of Svara, and yes, I immediately bought them :') My fav track from the album would be Galor + Das—Ras—Bas. The soft strutting guitar and almost high pitch singing voice from Zulhezan is like a journey onto heritage side, the portrayal of breathtaking art and nature all around us.

5. Pininyauw - Glass

This band was introduced by my friend, as initially I was asked to accompany her to see their launching event in 2018. However we did not manage to see them, due to circumstances and sadly GLASS announced their breakup last year. This track is the ultimate must-hear due to intense bass and emotional vibes that bring out to the ironically the fragility of a glass. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0UiyYmnTelcIBx3l1CwtOr

There were other post-rock band to be explored such as De Fusion, Explosions in the Sky, We Are Becoming Ghost, Marsa and much more. I am so thankful for the people that introduced me good music, as you know that I will always be reminded of you whenever I listen to your suggested songs. :)

Just to let you know, that there would be a post-rock gig this upcoming 6 Aug 2022 at Angkasa Space, if you would be interested to explore this genre. Disclaimer, all of the reviews and opinions are based on solely my own, and apologies if any wrong facts were provided. 

Thank you for reading, and hope you will enjoy the tracks as much as I do :)

Glimpse of Us - POV: you are 'her'

"I'm fine" and said, "I moved on"

I'm only here passing time in her arms

Hoping I'll find a glimpse of us.

He cried, and lean on me without no words. Just his sobs was heard during that hour. I could not grasp any words to make him better, only a silent hug was appropriate. I should have known that night, he never really love me for who I am. He was lonely, and I was there.

Music Theraphy #FreedomAHF

 

Pada awal bulan Ogos yang lalu, sebuah organisasi tempatan Freedom A(r)t Home Fest telah menganjurkan sebuah festival yang menampilkan persembahan daripada artis/band tempatan dan juga dari Indonesia, persembahan puisi, talk session, bazar jualan online dan tidak dilupakan juga tujuan utama event ini; mengutip dana bagi membantu persatuan dan organisasi seni tempatan. Festival ini telah berlangsung selama 7 hari iaitu daripada 9 Ogos hingga 15 Ogos di ruang aplikasi Zoom Meeting. Tiket bagi menikmati festival ini hanyalah percuma, jadi bagi sesiapa yang telah melepaskan peluang tersebut adalah sangat rugi.

Disebabkan jadual kerja saya yang merangkumi midnight shift, saya tidak berkesempatan untuk menikmati keseluruhan festival terutamanya pada hari minggu. Cuma pada hari Selasa dan Jumaat saja yang berkesempatan untuk menikmatinya sampai habis. Pada hari minggu festival bermula pada pukul 8 malam hingga lewat 10 malam. Manakala pada hujung minggu, seharian padat dengan persembahan dan Lepak Session yang bermula dari 2 petang.

Untuk Lepak Session pada hari Sabtu itu, panel jemputan Dr Kamal Sabran telah berkongsi tentang muzik/art as theraphy dan beberapa kajian yang dijalankan beliau yang berlangsung semasa awal lockdown tahun lepas yang bertajuk The Healing Art Project. Sebelum ini saya hanya mengenali Kamal Sabran melalui lagu dari Rohas Remi; Tinggi Harap dan Soldadu Senja. 

Tahukah anda, ada kajian telah membuktikan muzik seperti heavy metal mampu menurunkan tekanan darah dan juga mengurangkan perasaan anxiety (resah). Menarik bukan?

Sepanjang perkongsian itu, Dr Kamal menerangkan sejarah dan penggunaan seni di serata dunia termasuklah bagi merawat pesakit-pesakit Alzheimer. Seperti yang kita ketahui pesakit Alzheimer mengalami kesukaran untuk mengingati kejadian baru-baru yang berlaku. Selain itu, mereka berpotensi untuk mengalami perubahan mood, kehilangan motivasi dan mengabaikan kesejahteraan diri sendiri. Dengan kaedah menggunakan lagu-lagu, terutamanya lagu yang pernah mereka dengari mampu menggubah mood mereka untuk menjadi lebih ceria. Pendekatan ini juga telah merangsang pesakit Alzheimer untuk berkomunikasi dengan lebih lancar.

Kaedah menggunakan muzik sebagai 'non-medical treatment' juga diaplikasikan melalui cara tradisional mampu membantu menjaga kesihatan mental dengan lebih baik. Sebagai contoh, Tibetan singing bowls yang digunakan untuk deep relaxation dan penjanaan semula otot dan penggunaan Didgeridoo oleh kaum Aborigin (Australia) yang sebenarnya digunakan sebagai perubatan tradisional.

Di Malaysia juga terdapat pendekatan yang sama dengan ritual Main Puteri - yang berasal dari Kelantan bagi mengubat penyakit yang tiada ubat, seperti sakit buatan orang. Namun ritual ini telah diharamkan dan tidak lagi dilaksanakan di negara ini.

Banyak topik yang dikongsikan oleh Dr Kamal pada hari itu, yang membuka minda saya tentang pemahaman dan kelebihan-kelebihan seni itu sendiri. Highly creative people are able to express more and has high appreciation towards history and culture. 

Lockdown atau pengurungan selama 2 tahun ini semestinya membuatkan kita sebu, jemu dan mengakibatkan kesihatan mental terjejas. Kes suicidal yang semakin meninggi di negara ini tidak sepatutnya dipandang enteng oleh masyarakat. Semua orang mengalami kepayahan untuk menjaga kesihatan fizikal dan mental dengan baik apatah lagi mengenangkan keadaan negara kita yang seperti tidak ada jalan keluar.

Antara pendekatan 'sound healing' moden yang boleh kita aplikasikan adalah dengan :

- Drum Therapy (projek yang dijalankan oleh Dr Kamal sendiri)

- Meditasi dengan gelombang bunyi

- ASMR (merangsang stimulus tertentu) 

- Sound theraphy apps (aplikasi seperti White Noise, Nature Sound)

Aktiviti mendengar muzik juga mampu berikan efek positif seperti melegakan anxiety, membaiki keupayaan untuk belajar, meningkatkan keyakinan diri dan membantu upaya mengingat dengan lebih baik.Oleh itu, tidak salah untuk anda mengambil sedikit masa sibuk dengan mendengar muzik kegemaran atau cuba untuk bermeditasi dengan bunyian alam demi kesejahteraan diri dan kesihatan mental anda.

Lepak Session/ perkongsian pada hari itu sangatlah padat dengan ilmu baru dan menarik bagi saya. Semoga festival dan sesi sebegini kerap diadakan bukan sahaja untuk diri sendiri malahan generasi seterusnya. 

Semoga selamat semuanya!